Pope calls Gaza parish priest from hospital in day of stability

ROME – Pope Francis Wednesday today had a good day, the Vatican has reported, which included calling the Catholic parish in Gaza and stepping up respiratory and mobility exercises.

In a March 5 statement, the Vatican said Pope Francis “remained stable” throughout the day and had no episodes of respiratory difficulty or failure.

During the day, he received high-flow oxygen through the nose as planned, and use of non-invasive ventilation will be used during the night, as has been the case for the past two days, after experiencing a respiratory spasm.

Francis, 88, spent the day in a chair and in the morning, in his private apartment on the 10th floor of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, he participated in the rite of the blessing of the ashes for Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season.

He then had the ashes imposed on him by the celebrant and received the Eucharist.

Also in the morning the Pope called Father Gabriel Romanelli, priest of the Holy Family parish in Gaza and a fellow Argentine, and conducted some work activities. He spent the afternoon working.

In spite of a stable day for Pope Francis, doctors are still refraining from providing an overall prognosis, which remains “guarded” in view of the complexity of his overall clinical status, which includes factors such as his age and underlying chronic respiratory illness,

Francis is approaching the three-week mark of his admission to Gemelli Hospital Feb. 14 for treatment of a complex respiratory infection and double pneumonia.

He has had several ups and downs since being admitted, with periodic respiratory crises that have forced him to maintain use of high-flow oxygen and, more recently, the nighttime use of non-invasive mechanical ventilation, which consists of an oxygen mask being sealed around his nose and mouth to create pressure that aids in inhalation.

Twice in the last week he has experienced bronchospasms, which is a tightening and restriction of the tubes connecting the lungs to the windpipe, that required suctioning and ventilation treatment.

The ventilator has now been removed in the mornings, with Francis receiving oxygen through the nose while continuing to do respiratory exercises.

The Vatican said Wednesday that the Pope has increased respiratory physiotherapy and active motor therapy aimed at getting him mobile again and weaned from oxygen.

Due to his ongoing hospitalization, the Pope was unable to preside over his Ash Wednesday procession and Mass, which was instead celebrated by Italian Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, major penitentiary of the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary.

A nightly rosary being prayed for Pope Francis’s health and recovery in St Peter’s Square, which is attended by various cardinals and members of the Roman Curia resident in Rome, is scheduled to be led by Italian Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Saints Causes.

(Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

The post Pope calls Gaza parish priest from hospital in day of stability first appeared on Catholic Herald.

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